Land of the Leopard trail cameras capture first months in the life of tiger cubs

12 January 2018

Researchers from Land of the Leopard National Park have received a series of photos featuring the life of an Amur tiger family: a tigress with three cubs. The camera traps installed near their den took images of cubs aged 1.5-2 months for the first time.

The images are unique because tiger cubs usually spend the first months of their lives near their den unable to follow their mother, and not much is known about this period of their life. The images show the cubs exploring the area, resting, playing and sometimes fighting with each other. There are also photos of the tigress bringing back prey, a deer carcass, to get her young used to adult food.

“Of course, these images are very important for research. They give information which allows us to evaluate reproduction in the Amur tiger population: the time of birth, the size of the litter and the survival rate. This data also shows how the family behaves near the den, the time of the day or night when they are most active, how often the tigress comes home, how much time she spends with her cubs, and what the cubs do while their mum is away,” said Dina Matyukhina, senior research associate at the park.

The images show when the cubs were able to accompany their mother at distances of several kilometres. Several months later, another camera provided images of the family, proving that it is natural for Amur tigers to change their dwelling places.